Trends in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal OT

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It is so easy to get caught in the minutiae of our daily work. 

And, sometimes it is incredibly helpful to zoom out and take a big picture look at the incredible changes we have seen in healthcare over the past decades. 

The journal article we are looking at this week gives us a bird’s-eye view of the past, present, and future of managing rheumatic and musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases. 

In the article you’ll find the same trends that we see in occupational therapy-specific research: a focus on self-management, patient reported outcome measures and patient centeredness. In looking to the future, technology is going to further enable all of these trends. 

After the articles orients us to the advances in MSK care, we will be joined by Winnie Tsui, OTL, CHT, MBA, who works as a product manager on the frontiers of technology in this area.  Winnie will help us understand the exciting technology that is ushering the future of care—and the role OT has the potential to play in this exciting new reality.

Primary Journal Article Explored

When you log in, be sure to check out the OT Potential Club’s written breakdown of the following research article. Then, share your questions and thoughts with fellow practitioners.

• Managing rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases — past, present and future

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• A systematic review of the benefits of occupation-based intervention for patients with upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders
• Beyond the hand and upper extremity: The role of hand therapists in care of people with rheumatic diseases

Learning Objectives

• You will be able to identify the general trends related to OT delivery for rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease. 
• You will be able to recognize how new technologies may help fill current gaps in OT care. 

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (5 minutes)

• Intro to rheumatic and MSK management
• Why was this specific article written?
• Timeline of pharmacological treatment
• Surgical treatment updates
• Changes in clinical practice (Hello OT!)
• The centering of the patient
• What does the future hold? 
• Conclusions
• Takeaways for OT practitioners

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with Winnie Tsui) (50 minutes)

• How did you first find OT?
• How did you become drawn to rehab technology?
• Can you tell me about your current job and how you found it?
• What were your initial impressions of our article?
• Tell me about the current gaps in care you see in the support for MSK patients? 
• In the “changes in clinical practice” section, I loved the call-out of the shift to self-management. How do you see technology enabling this shift?
• How can new technologies aid in the assessment of MSK disorders?
• How do you see technology facilitating multidisciplinary/holistic MSK care?
• How do you think the OT workforce needs to change to adapt to the exciting changes you are a part of ushering in? 
• Is there one thing you want OTs to do differently after listening to this episode? 

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about trends in rheumatic and musculoskeletal OT.  The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.
We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic.  Our guest, Winnie Tsui also has no financial disclosures.

Speakers

Winnie Tsui, OTL, CHT, MBA:

Winnie trained in OT at the University of Alberta. She then moved to New York City where she acquired her Certified Hand Therapy (CHT) certification and MBA at New York University. Winnie worked as a Clinical Specialist of Hand Therapy in NYU Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation for 10 years. She then shifted to developing technology for healthcare, collaborating with clinicians and tech developers in Silicon Valley, Johns Hopkins University, NYU, Columbia, and Washington University.

She now works as the Senior Product Manager at Kaia Health. Kaia offers digital programs to help people with chronic musculoskeletal pain—including back, hip, and knee pain—and COPD. Its mission is to make affordable and effective therapy accessible to millions of patients around the world. Read full bio.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L:

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

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We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

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